TMNT: Shellshocked! ( a What If scenario )
by ScruffyStarWarsFan
Summary: What if I could make my own TMNT movie? Well, this would be it! A reboot-story of sorts with classic details like the turtles running into April and the conflict with Shredder exploding. A major plot involves the history between Splinter and Shredder, as well as the origins of the turtles themselves. Edited chapter 5, realized I forgot to follow up on a major plot-point haha
1. Chapter 1

_What if I got the chance to make my very own Turtles movie? Well, this would be it. Or close to it at least. Not a sequel to any existing movie or tv-series, but a reboot-story of sorts I think you might call it. So if you happen to have a look and like what you read, or if you don't like what you read, leave a comment. Did some changes to the initial post, added some dialogue and made April more important to discovering the plot. Anyways, let's get the story going shall we?_

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Shellshocked!**

New York City, 1987. Nighttime.

A large building with a big sign; Sachs Technologies. Armed guards patrol the perimeter. A paraglider moves in silently through the darkness, but besides the "pilot" a passenger hangs from a rope as they close in on the roof of the building. Flying in over the roof, the passenger disconnects from the rope and lands while the paraglider and pilot fly on. The passenger looks up, dressed like a ninja with a steel mask ( Karai ).

Professor Cornelius Chaplin is in a high-tech lab in the building and conducts experiments on a canister filled with a green liquid.

"I've done it!" he says, excited. "With this new fuel, the world will no longer be dependent on oil!" He holds up a small vial with a sample. "This tiny amount will power a car for a full year. I will be rich!" He picks up the canister and heads on over to a large vault. "Tomorrow, we will go public" he says and is about to open the vault.

He then hears something and turns around. Another noise and he moves through the lab, holding the canister, but finds nothing. He turns around and finds himself face to face with a female ninja armed with a sword; despite her mask, it is clear her face is badly burned ( Karai ). She strikes him down with one blow. Karai then retrieves the canister, sticks it in a bag and escapes.

 **XXX XXX**

Morning at street-level, the police have set up a perimeter and a body is moved out of the building and into an ambulance. Every media-organization imaginable is present to report on the murder. One of the reporters is April O'Neil.

"Circumstances are as of yet uncertain, but according to anonymous police-officials, professor Cornelius Chaplin was killed by a sword. Even more strange, the murder was not picked up by any security-cameras, sources within the police tells us. The murderer appears to have made his move, deliberately, in a blind-spot. Chaplin is of course best known for inventing the Mouser, the robot mouse-catcher that was a huge success in the seventies, up until the robots started killing rats and mice that were kept as pets. The following law-suits almost bankrupted the famous inventor and he has stayed under the radar for the past ten years. Rumor has it that he has been working on a ground-breaking new fuel that could end our dependency on oil. Sachs Technologies, Chaplins current employer, has denied any such rumors. But already, only a few hours after his murder, people are speculating if Chaplins death was sanctioned by the mighty oil companies of the world. April O'Neil, TMN-TV News."

 **XXX XXX**

At TMN-TV headquarters, April walks through the offices and enters the office of her boss, Charles Pennington.

"April, come on in, sit down" he tells her.

April sits down opposite of her boss. "What is it, Charles?"

"Listen" he tells her, "great job on the Chaplin murder. I liked the angle that it might have been a hit payed for by the oil companies. Really creative thinking, April."

"But?"

"I'm giving the story to Vern."

"Vernon Fenwick?!" April is clearly agitated. "Why?! It's my story, god damn it. Why the hell would you give it to a sleaze like Vernon Fenwick?!"

"Because you upset some very powerful people, April. Again! So, you're down to two choices. You either drop the Chaplin story, or find a new job."

April shakes her head. "I can't believe this."

Charles hands her a folder with a new story to pick up. "Have a look at this, I think you can make something good out of it. Something the viewers would like to watch. It's more exciting than some mad scientist getting sliced up."

April looks through the documents. "A vigilante wearing a hockey-mask?" she says skeptically and looks at her boss. "Seriously?"

"He beats up criminals with a hockey-stick" Charles adds. "Six incidents in two weeks. A real-life masked vigilante running around on the streets of New York, beating up thugs. You can make him a hero, April. You can make this story the most talked about story of the year. This is sexy news. It's a chance of a lifetime."

"Then give it to Vernon Fenwick" April says and leaves the folder on the desk and leaves.

As April walks through the building, furious, a receptionist calls out to her.

"April! April!"

April walks over to the receptionist. "What is it, Irma? What do you got? Please tell me it's something good, I need something good desperately right now."

Irma hands April a note. "A man called just a few minutes ago. Says he saw your coverage of the Chaplin murder and that he has some info you might find interesting."

April takes the note. "That's more like it" she says and reads the note. "New York Harbor, ten o'clock tonight. Be there, because this is not something you want to miss. A bit vague, perhaps."

"Sounds dangerous" Irma says. "You might want to bring some backup."

"And risk scaring this guy away?" April says. "No way, not worth the risk."

"Just promise me you'll be careful" Irma says.

"Always" April says with a smile and leaves.

 **XXX XXX**

New York Harbor, late at night.

April is waiting at the designated spot and checks her watch.

"Come on… where the hell is this guy?"

"Just had to make sure you were alone" a voice says.

April spins around and finds herself face to face with a man wearing a hockey-mask, armed with hockey-sticks and baseball-bats (Casey Jones ).

"Holy shit" April says. "You're real? You're the vigilante beating up street-thugs?"

"That would be me" Jones says. "Scumbags don't deserve to eat using their teeth, if you ask me. So I remove them."

"What an upstanding citizen" April says. "So what am I doing here? If this is a stunt to get some publicity, you can forget about it."

"No stunt, no tricks" he says. "Come on, I'll show you something."

They sneak through the harbor until they get a good view of a specific ship in dock.

Casey Jones points out the vessel to April. "That ship arrived yesterday from Tokyo. And one hour from now, it will head back to Tokyo."

"So?" April asks.

"The ship is owned by TCRI. Sound familiar?"

"A robotics company" April says. "What of it?"

Jones shakes his head. "The major competitor to Sachs Technologies, right?"

"Yeah" April nods. "Both companies are fierce rivals in developing robotics and computers."

"Exactly" Casey nods.

April tries to connect the dots. "So… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that TCRI used this ship to smuggle a ninja into the country, had Chaplin killed, and now that ninja will leave using the same ship."

April looks at the vigilante like he's an idiot. "A ninja?"

Casey Jones nods. "You said it yourself. Chaplin was sliced up by a sword without any witnesses and perfectly timed to exploit a blind-spot between the security-cameras. No signs of a break-in, no signs of anyone being there at all. Sure as hell sounds like a ninja to me. And here we have a ship, arriving from Japan the day before a murder is committed and the next day it will return to Japan. I'm telling you; it all connects."

"It connects alright" April says. "It all connects with bullshit. You can't expect me to believe all this?"

"Look, lady" Jones says. "I'm telling you; TCRI is behind all of this. You need to follow that lead and bring them down."

"Why? Why do you care?"

"I'm just a concerned citizen, that's all."

April gives it some thought. "Alright… I'll check on TCRI and see if we can't find anything weird with this ship of yours. If this ship had its schedule changed in the last minute, that might be proof of something. It's the best I can do."

Jones nods. "That's more like it, sweetie-pie. I knew you would come around."

"Just shut up and let's get the hell out of here" April says a bit annoyed.

They turn around and are about to leave when they realize they are surrounded by seven ninjas ( all wearing the attire of the Foot Clan, first motion picture style'ish ); the seventh of them is Karai.

"Told you" Jones says. "Ninjas."

April can't believe her eyes. "Holy shit."

Karai draws her sword. "I remember you from television" she says as she looks at April. "I like you. Too bad your career ends tonight."

Jones pulls out a hockey-stick. "We'll see about that. I've made it a habit of teaching bullies about humility. First class is free of charge, Pain 101, and I'm your instructor; Casey Jones."

He charges at Karai but is easily put down. He gets back on his feet and pulls out a baseball-bat and swings at another ninja; the ninja ducks and kicks Jones in the gut, sending him flying. April runs over and picks up a cricket-bat.

"Get away!" April calls out. "I know how to use this!"

"Cricket?" a voice says from the shadows, truly surprised.

"Shut up, Mikey!" another voice says.

Everyone looks around, surprised by the voices.

"Nobody understands cricket" the first voice continues. "You gotta know what crumpet is to understand cricket."

The ninjas all ready their weapons. Karai gives a nod and they all vanish into the shadows. Karai turns to April and readies her sword for a strike; Karai ducks in the last moment and backflips as three shuriken misses her and hits the side of a container. Karai throws a smoke-bomb and vanishes. April helps Jones on his feet and head on out.

A ninja stands in the shadows and listens. He waits. Then he strikes with his sword at a shadow, but hits two swords crossed to catch his blade; a mighty kick sends the ninja flying into a container a couple of yards away.

Another ninja is armed with a kusarigama ( sickle and chain ) and sneaks through the shadows. Out of the shadows, a bo-staff strikes at him but the ninja ducks and rolls out of the way. The ninja swings the chain which wraps around the bo-staff; the bo-staff is used like a spear to hit the ninja in the face. A mighty blow with the staff strikes the sickle out of the ninjas hand and then a series of hits from the staff eventually knocks the ninja down and unconscious.

Karai, from her vantage-point, sees both the knocked out ninjas. She gives a nod to her four remaining ninjas and they team up 2 and 2.

One pair of ninjas walk into a poorly lit area and get ambushed by an attacker wielding two nunchakus to great effect and taking them both down with a series of lightning quick strikes. The attacker throws a smoke-bomb at the ground and vanishes without a trace as quickly as he appeared as the smoke clears.

The last pair, armed with a sword and a naginata, are now more defensive, standing ready to be attacked. The naginata strikes, but gets deflected by a pair of sai, and then gets kicked to the side. The last ninja swings his sword three times, but each strike is parried by a sai and then the last ninja is also kicked to the side.

April and Jones make it to Aprils car and climb in. With April behind the wheel, they drive off at high speed.

"Told you!" Jones says. "God damn ninjas!"

"Alright already!" April says. "Just shut up and let me drive!"

Back at the fight, Karai decides to leave and flees. She parries a couple of sword-blows in the shadows and throws a small fire-bomb that ignites the side of a container with flammable liquid. In the light from the flames, she sees her assailant; a giant humanoid turtle armed with two sword ( Leonardo of course ).

Karai is frightened at the sight. "Yōkai!" she says ( a Japanese demon ) and backs away.

Leonardo attacks and Karai is forced to rely on all of her skills to parry the strikes. In the end, Leonardo uses a special attack-move that Karai barely dodges. Leonardo is clearly surprised by this, which allows Karai to flee the scene for all her worth.

"We can get her!" Raphael says and runs after Karai together with Donatello.

"No, wait!" Leonardo says and both Raphael and Donatello stop. "Let her go. It's time to get the hell out of here."

"Says who?" Raphael growls. "We can't let the enemy get away. She's seen us. We have to deal with it and we have to deal with it now."

"We don't have to deal with anything" Leonardo points out strongly. "So what if she's seen us? No one will believe her. Now… let's move out."

"This is on you, Leo" Raphael says. "It's on you" he adds and thumps Leo's chest with the grip of one of his sai's.

Raphael jumps into the shadows, closely followed by Leonardo. Michelangelo and Donatello stay behind for a short moment.

"Man, that was tense" Michelangelo says.

Donatello nods. "Yeah… I thought Raph was gonna kill that girl."

"No man, I'm talking about that reporter chick. Didn't you feel the sexual tension between her and Wayne Gretsky back there?"

Leo's voice is heard from the shadows. "Are you two coming?!"

"Woops, gotta go!" Donatello says and vanishes.

Michelangelo takes a look around. "Ninjas, pffft… Overrated." And he then follows the others.

The four turtles skateboard through the sewers, doing all sorts of tricks along the way.

"I can't believe we fought actual ninjas!" Donatello says.

"Ninjas?" Michelangelo says. "More like soccer players in black pajamas!"

"Sucker players" Raphael chuckles.

"Nice one, Raph" Michelangelo grins and the two high-five.

"Hey, Leo" Donatello says as they skate through the sewers. "I'm not sure if I got it wrong, but did she actually dodge the Black Blossom maneuver?"

"Yeah" Leonardo replies. "Yeah, she did."

"I thought you couldn't dodge or parry that attack?" Donatello says.

"Yeah, dude!" Michelangelo says as he skates by. "Black Blossom is instant karma! I can't believe you messed that one up, Leo. Totally lame, dude!"

Raphael skates by as well. "This is your mess, Leo!"

Leonardo sighs and shakes his head and follows the others.

They skate on until they reach their secret sewer-hideout. Placing their skateboards to the side, they walk through the hideout, Michelangelo picks up a slice of pizza along the way, and then they all line up and kneel. Leonardo places a red bandana on the floor that they had taken from one of the ninjas.

"Sensei" Leonardo says. "You were right. Ninjas did kill the professor. We were forced to confront them when they were about to attack a reporter. They wore this on their heads."

Splinter, sitting as well, reaches out and picks up the bandana and studies it and its insignia. "Where you seen?" Splinter then asks.

Leonardo sighs. "Yes, master. One of the enemy saw me and got away."

"I could have taken her down!" Raphael interrupts. "I could have taken her down and no one would have known about us. Leo has put us all at risk!"

"Raphael!" Splinter ends the argument. "Leonardo?"

"Raphael could have taken her down, sensei" Leonardo admits. "But I stopped him. She was no threat to us and she was terrified. Going after her would have been dishonorable."

Splinter nods and then looks at the insignia on the bandana once more.

"It is the Foot Clan, isn't it, sensei?" Donatello asks.

"Yes" Splinter says and the turtles all look at each other. "The Foot Clan was hired to kill professor Chaplin. And now they know of our existence."

"Forgive me, sensei!" Leonardo says and bows.

"What is there to forgive?" Splinter wonders. "It is always better to save a life than to take it. We have more important matters to consider. The Foot Clan knows that this reporter is on to them. They know that she somehow has connected the dots. They will try and silence her."

"No problemo, dude" Michelangelo says, "We'll stop 'em. I mean come on, it's not like they impressed us that much back there. I mean seriously, did you guys see when I…"

"Michelangelo!" Splinter stops Mikey's rant. "This reporter" Splinter continues, "she will need our help. She will need your protection. The Foot Clan will come for her and you will have to stop them. Without your help, the Foot Clan will kill her."

"We will not fail you, sensei!" Leonardo says.

"I know you wont" Splinter says. "Now you must prepare for your next encounter with the Foot Clan. But first, we must meditate on tonight's encounter, find inner peace, seek clarity and learn from our mistakes."

Splinter prepares to meditate. But is interrupted by music! As he looks up, Michelangelo and Donatello are listening to Europe's song _Ninja_ , with Donatello playing air-guitar with his bo-staff and Michelangelo using his nunchakus as a microphone and singing along.

"It helps them relax" Leonardo says with a shrug of his shoulders and begins to dig the music.

Splinter sighs and shakes his head. "Teenagers."

Raphael frowns and leaves the room, punching the wall as he goes. "Learn from our mistakes?" he says and shakes his head. "We should not have let her go, is a good start." He lies down in a couch and watches some tv.

Donatello turns to Michelangelo. "These lyrics makes no sense!"

"Who cares!" Michelangelo replies and sings along. "NINJA SURVIVE!"

 **XXX XXX**

Karai enter a room and sits down, not wearing any mask or hood, revealing her terrible burns on her face. She kneels before a camera. A terrible voice is heard, speaking Japanese ( Shredder ).

"Yes, daughter?"

"Father, I beg your forgiveness" Karai says, also speaking Japanese.

"Why? Chaplin is dead. You were successful."

Karai is seen on a tv-screen. "A reporter has linked our mission to our employer" Karai says. "I failed to kill her."

A mysterious figure, wearing armor and spikes ( Shredder of course ) sits in the shadows and watches the screen. "You are my greatest student. How could you fail?"

"I was attacked" Karai says, a bit reluctantly. "Attacked by Yōkai. A terrible beast… who knew of the Black Blossom." Shredder sits silent, which makes Karai nervous. "Forgive me, father, but the monster was unstoppable and it was only because I have seen you perform the Black Blossom that I realized what was about to happen. I barely escaped with my life."

"The Black Blossom is an unstoppable attack that the Foot Clan has kept a secret for five hundred years" Shredder says. "Only the most skilled ninjas of the clan can master this attack."

"This beast must have been sent to punish us" Karai says. "A spirit to haunt the Foot Clan. Only you, father, has mastered the Black Blossom, ever since…"

"The treason of Yoshihama Takeshi and the murder of my brother. The traitor was never found and escaped my wrath."

"Father… do you think… could he be…"

"It was no Yōkai. A spirit would not have failed the Black Blossom and let you live. Yoshihama Takeshi is alive… and is hiding in New York City."

Shredder punches the floor with his twin wrist-blades with incredible force, cracking the boards!

 **XXX XXX**

Irma carries folders and files and enters Aprils office at TMN-TV and places it all on her desk.

"There you go" Irma says. "Fresh from storage. Everything we've got on TCRI since the early sixties. What's so interesting about TCRI anyway? I thought you were working on the Sachs Industries murder?"

"I am" April says and starts going through the files.

April O'Neil is seen doing a news-report.

"Ninjas operating in New York City? Medieval assassins killing in 1980's New York? As incredible as it sounds, it might just be what could explain the murder of professor Cornelius Chaplin. Chaplin was killed inside the Sachs Technologies building by a single strike with a sword, police tells us, and there is no evidence detailing how the murderer got in or out undetected and unseen. A murder so precise in its execution, that the word ninja does come to mind. A day before the murder a ship arrived in New York Harbor, its port of origin; Tokyo. The day after the murder, that same ship heads back to Tokyo. Coincidence? Perhaps. But bear in mind that the ship in question is owned by the company TCRI, a company that currently has Baxter Stockman as an employee. Baxter Stockman, of course, is well known for his claims that Chaplin stole the famous Mouser robot from Stockman, and Stockman himself went to prison for stealing an invention from Chaplin. Not only that, but Baxter Stockman has been suspected of trying to have Chaplin assassinated on a number of occasions, though it has never been proven in a court of law. Baxter Stockman was released from prisoner six months ago after having served a ten year sentence after burning professor Chaplins laboratory to the ground. A couple of days after his release, Stockman was hired by TCRI. Coincidences? Who knows. But this reporter knows one thing, and that is that all clues points to TCRI. April O'Neil, TMN-TV News."

Charles Pennington sighs and rubs his face. He has watched the report together with April.

"Christ sake, April" he says. "I can't show that. TCRI will send their lawyers after us and eat us alive. We'll be lucky if they let us keep our underwear!"

"This is the story, Charles" April argues. "TCRI is a major developer of new advanced technology and Chaplin made Sachs Technologies a major competitor. I'm willing to bet that they helped Baxter get his revenge and that they got something out of the deal as well. This is big, Charles. This is the biggest story of the decade. TCRI helped commit murder to destroy Sachs Technologies. I'm telling you, Charles, I saw real life ninjas down at the harbor!"

"Jesus" Pennington says and shakes his head. "I'm telling you this for the last time; do a story on that damned hockey-vigilante or empty your office! Now get out of here and do your damned job!"

"Fine!"

April storms out of the office and heads for her own, sits down and picks up the phone and dials a number.

"Casey?" she says. "We're on our own. We need to get to Stockman if we are to blow this wide open… Yeah, I'm serious. So, are you in or not? Just answer the question… Good, I'll pick you up in half an hour."

April leaves the TMN-TV building and gets in her car and heads out into traffic. Up on the rooftops, the turtles keep watch.

"She's on the move!" Raphael says and runs off and jumps over to the next building.

"Great" Michelangelo says, "why can't we just get a minivan or something, you know? A lick of paint, some proper stereo-action. A real deal chick-magnet, you know what I'm saying?"

"Come on, Mikey!" Leonardo says as the rest of them are on the move.

"Man, I hate running" Michelangelo sighs and heads after the others.

After a while, the turtles gather on a roof and look down at April's car.

"Eastman and Laird? Whatta hell is she doing in a crappy neighborhood like this?" Michelangelo wonders.

"Hey look!" Donatello says and points as Casey Jones leaves a building and hops into the car. "It's the guy from the docks. You know, the baseball-player."

"Hockey!" Raphael corrects. "But why is she hanging out with a bum like him?"

Michelangelo smiles. "Why, Raph? Jealous? Hmmm?"

A sai's point ends up lightning quick by Michelangelo's eye. Raphael is not amused. "Shut it, Mikey. I'm not in the mood."

"Quiet down" Leonardo says. "They're on the move again. Let's get going."

Donatello shakes his head. "You know, Mikey's idea about a van sounds like a better plan the longer this day keeps going."

"I know, right?!" Michelangelo grins and jumps after the others.

In the car, April and Casey discuss their next move.

"Kidnap Baxter Stockman?" Casey wonders, a bit in disbelief.

April nods. "Yeah. We get him to talk and we get it on tape. We need him to confess. If he does, we can bring down Baxter, TCRI and the ninjas. It will all come crashing down like a house of cards. I'm telling you, Casey, it's our only shot. Baxter Stockman burned Chaplins lab down to the ground ten years ago as payback for Chaplin stealing the MOUSER robot. It was never proven, but it is believed that Stockman payed to have Chaplin killed at least three times, while he was in prison. And the moment Stockman gets out of jail, Chaplin ends up dead. And Stockmans current employer just happens to smuggle in ninjas to the city? We need to get to Baxter Stockman; it's our only hope of cracking this wide open."

"Kidnaping?" Casey says, still not believing it. "Alright… How? I mean, he is a bigshot at TCRI, they will keep him safe."

"We'll figure it out" April says. "If they can get to Chaplin, we can get to Stockman."

"You do realize it was trained ninjas that got to Chaplin, right?" Casey asks April. "I mean, I'm good, but I'm not sure I'm that good."

"We'll find a way."

April drives up to a garage in the harbor and Casey opens it and they drive inside. The turtles hide up on a rooftop and keep an eye on the building.

"I've been thinking, Leo" Raphael says. "When will you tell Splinter that you tried the Black Blossom? I mean, only a revered master like Splinter can pull it off successfully. So why do you think you're good enough to even try pulling it off in an actual fight? I mean, you tried and you failed. And now the enemy knows about us, don't they? Because of your ego, Leo. Because you thought you are as good as Master Splinter!"

"Really?" Leonardo says. "You bring this up now? You don't think we have more important things to worry about right about now?"

Raphael walks over to Leonardo. "I need to know if we can rely on you not to put the rest of us at risk in the next fight. Because there will be a next fight, Leo, and we need to be able to count on you."

"Says the guy that is so eager to start fighting, he can't wait for his brothers to get into position" Leonardo counters.

"Don't make this about me" Raphael says. "Don't you turn this around on me."

Donatello turns to Michelangelo. "So, uh… Wanna go down there and see what they're up to?"

Michelangelo nods. "Why not. This Moonlighting drama-routine is getting old."

Inside the garage, Casey begins to gear up with his mask and sticks and bats.

"You know" Casey says, "chances are we will mess this up. And if we mess this up, we will end up in jail for the next twenty years."

"Man, for a masked vigilante you're such a crybaby, you know that?"

"I'm just saying" Casey says and pulls his mask down over his face.

 _ **To be continued…**_

 _That is the first part of this "movie". We get to see our main characters in action, we get the plot and we have a reason for the turtles taking an interest in April. We also learn why Shredder takes an interest; it appears as if the turtles are privy to some Foot Clan martial arts secrets, which is very mysterious. So if you want to know how it all ends up, then stick around for future updates._


	2. Chapter 2

Michelangelo and Donatello enter the garage through a window without making a sound, they sneak around and find Aprils car.

"Where did they go?" Donatello wonders.

"Hey, wouldn't it be weird if we took a peek in the back seat and, you know, they were at it?"

"That's just gross, Mikey" Donatello says. "Gross and inappropriate, not to mention immature."

"What? Because you're so mature and responsible? Mister Dungeons and Dragons playing arcades all night long."

"You play arcades all night long" Donatello points out.

"Yeah, but that's totally different, bro'. I'm not a nerd."

"Hey, I think I found something" Donatello says. "A backdoor."

"Dungeons and Dragons, dude. That's all I'm saying" Michelangelo says and follows Donatello.

They sneak out into a backyard full of debris and junk.

"You know, Donnie" Michelangelo says. "This sure is a good place for an ambush. If I was gonna set up an ambush, I would do it right here."

"Shh! They'll hear you" Donatello says. "Be quiet."

"Drop your weapons, scumbags!" Casey Jones calls out as he and April jump out of hiding, ready with bats and sticks.

Michelangelo turns to Donatello. "Told ya."

Casey and April can't believe their eyes.

"Run, April!" Casey says, terrified. "Get the hell out of here!"

April flees and Casey gets ready to fight the turtles.

"Calm down" Donatello says. "We're here to help. We are not your enemies."

"We are the enemies of your enemies" Michelangelo cuts in. "So basically, we're all enemies."

"Don't listen to him" Donatello says. "We are your friends."

"What the hell are you?" Casey asks.

At that point, Leonardo and Raphael lands on either side of Casey and disarms him.

"We're turtles!" Raphael growls. "I thought that much was obvious. We look like cats to you?!"

Leonardo steps in. "Everyone, calm down. Where did the reporter go?"

"She ran off" Donatello says and points.

Leonardo grabs Casey by the collar. "We don't want to hurt you, but we need to find your reporter-friend, before the Foot Clan can get to her. So where is she going?"

"As far away from you freaks as she possibly can" Casey says defiantly.

"You gotta hand it to him" Michelangelo says to the others, "He's got some balls. Or pucks. I suppose pucks is more appropriate."

"You will never find her" Casey says. "She knows every street-corner in New York. She has friends in all the boroughs. She knows how to disappear in this town for weeks. She has connections on both sides of the Hudson and is most likely already off the grid. Gone without a trace. You wanna find her? My advice is for you guys to sit down and wait for her to resurface, because the only way you can find her is if she wants to be found."

At that point, April comes running back. "Casey! Help!"

Foot Ninjas lasso April and hoist her into the air, and up on the rooftops. Leonardo spots Karai ( now wearing full mask and ninja outfit ) and she follows her fellow ninjas.

"Come On!" Leonardo says and heads after Karai and April.

"Finally!" Raphael growls. "Let's bust some heads!" And with that, Raphael follows Leonardo.

Donatello heads after the others, leaving Michelangelo and Casey behind. Michelangelo and Casey watch each other for a brief moment.

"Rangers or Islanders?" Michelangelo eventually asks.

"Rangers" Casey says.

"Put it there, pal" Michelangelo says and holds up his hand and they high-five. Michelangelo then heads after the others. "Come on, bro'! What are you waiting for!"

Casey watches Michelangelo climbing the building. "You gotta love New York" he says and heads after. "Hey, wait! I got an idea!"

Karai, the ninjas and April, zipline down from the roof, land on a parking-lot and jumps into a larger van and drives off. The turtles lands on the street, having jumped down from the building, just as the van heads out.

Raphael punches a dumpster. "Damn it! I can't believe we were that close!"

"There's got to be another way?" Donatello says.

"It's daytime" Leonardo says. "Too great a risk going after them now."

"But" Donatello is saddened, "then she'll die."

At that point, a rusty old green van hits the breaks right next to them and the side-door is pulled open, allowing Michelangelo to stick his head out.

"Look what I found!" Michelangelo says with great pride. "A lean, mean, green turtle machine. Hop on in, guys."

The others climb inside and discover Casey Jones behind the wheel.

"Hang on back there" Casey says and heads on out at high speeds.

"Told ya we needed a van!" Michelangelo says with a wide smile.

"Where the hell did you learn to drive?!" Raphael growls.

"Ease down, Raph" Michelangelo says. "The way I figure it is, since we can't drive, we shut up. Or else we'll never save that news-lady."

"Mikey's right" Leonardo says and climbs up to Casey. "Can this rust-bucket catch up to them?"

Casey Jones grins. "In the words of Han Solo; I know a few maneuvers."

The van cuts through traffic rather violently.

Donatello turns to Michelangelo. "He's quoting Star Wars."

Michelangelo grins. "I know, awesome, right?! If I was leaning that way, I would so make him my boyfriend."

"There!" Raphael says and points, pointing out the van they are chasing. "There they are!"

Leonardo nods. "Get ready."

In the other van, April is secured with ropes and a gag. Karai looks out the rear window and spots the green van coming after them at reckless speed. April takes the opportunity to kick a ninja in the gut, but Karai is quick to subdue her.

"Don't even try it!" Karai snarls.

The green van is gaining on the Foot Clan van.

"We're gaining on 'em!" Casey says.

"Awesome!" Michelangelo says and he and Donatello high-five.

"Great job" Leonardo says. "Get up beside them."

"You got it, boss" Casey says and steps on it.

Leonardo turns around to the others. "Raph! You're up!"

The green van gets up alongside the black one and the turtles opens their side-door. In the other van, a turtle is thrown in through the side-window, no arms or legs or head visible. Head and limbs then pop out and strike the Foot Clan ninjas; it is Raphael. He quickly grabs April and hands her over to Leonardo and Donatello who grab her and pull her into their van. April screams out of fear as she sees the turtles.

Michelangelo sighs. "Aw come on, lady! This is the second time we save ya! Show some gratitude."

"It's alright, April" Casey says and looks back at her. "They're the good-guys!"

April has a hard time understanding what is going on.

Raphael is about to climb back to the other van when Karai slices his leg with her sword; the pain has Raphael fall back into the Foot Clan van again where he is forced to fight the ninjas, and Karai of course.

"Raph!" Leonardo calls out and is about to jump after him.

"Hang on!" Casey shouts and dodges a large truck, which makes it impossible for Leonardo to go after Raphael.

Raphael manages to kick two ninjas out the back of the van, now only left with three ninjas plus Karai ( and one driver of course ). Casey ends up behind the ninja-van and they can see the fight inside since both rear-doors are open.

"Stay behind them" Leonardo says. "We can't risk anyone seeing Raph."

"So how are we gonna help him?" Casey wonders.

"Good question" Leonardo says.

Michelangelo looks out the rear window. "Never mind that" he says. "We got Five-Oh hot on our tail!"

A police-car is in pursuit with lights flashing and sirens howling. April moves on up to Casey.

"Move over!" she says. "I'm the better driver, so get out of the way!"

"Are you serious?!" Casey wonders.

"Move!" April argues.

In the ninja-van, the fight continues. Raphael is having trouble, but manages to kick Karai out of the van. She lands on the front of the green van and sticks her sword in the hood to prevent her from falling off. Karai spots the turtles inside the other van and she and Leonardo eye each other. The ninja-van makes a sudden turn and enters a parking-building, throwing Raphael and the other ninjas around. April, now driving, follows as best she can, as does the police-car. The chase continues up a spiraling ramp with exits at each level/floor. Raphael managed to throw out another ninja, leaving only two left to fight him.

Karai punches the window and brakes it and then instantly throws in a fire-bomb that ignites inside the green van, causing Casey, Michelangelo and Donatello to slightly panic. Leonardo tries to stab Karai through the hole she made in the window, but she dodges each attack, holding on to her sword that is secured through the hood of the van.

The ninja-van enters a level and is followed by the green van and the police-car as the chase continues among the parked cars.

Leonardo turns around. "Donnie! Ditch the cops!"

"Hold on to this" Donatello tells Michelangelo and holds out his staff.

Donatello leans out of the van, through the open side-door, holding on to his staff with one arm while Michelangelo is holding on to the other end. Donatello, with one throw, throws two shuriken that hits the police-cars front-wheel, causing it to explode and the police-car loses control and crashes. Michelangelo pulls Donatello back into the van.

"I sure hope they wore their seat-belts" Michelangelo comments.

Leonardo pushes them to the side. "Out of the way!" he growls and climbs outside.

Karai retrieves a tonfa from her back and uses it to parry Leonardo's strikes; Leonardo is on the side of the van, attacking with one of his swords, forcing Karai to parry strike after strike.

April is watching everything up close from the drivers seat. "I can't believe this shit."

In the black van, Raphael gets a hard kick to the chest, sending him crashing into the closed side-door; the door, with Raphael on top of it, brakes free from the van and slides off with Raphael holding onto it.

Karai manage to land a kick to Leonardo's head, sending him flying into the parked cars, smashing them with his shell. April hits the brakes which sends Karai, with her sword, flying; she lands, rolls and ends up on her feet in a kneeling position. April backs up to Leonardo and Donatello and Michelangelo help Leonardo into the van. Karai runs on over and jumps into the black van that heads for the spiraling downward ramp. Raphael sees this.

"You're not getting away this time" Raphael says.

He picks up the side-door, runs with it and jumps up on it and surfs on it on the way down in his pursuit of the black van. Meanwhile, April heads on after as well, with Leonardo safely in the green van. Raphael throws shuriken at Karai and the other Foot Clan ninjas, forcing them to duck and dodge inside of the black van. Karai throws another fire-bomb and as it detonates, it forces Raphael to fall off the door and he hits the ground hard and rolls down the spiraling ramp. The black van leaves the parking-building and heads off. Inside, the green van catches up to Raphael who is slowly getting back on his feet.

"Come on, Raph!" Donatello tells him. "It's time to get out of here!"

Raphael climbs into the van and they leave at high speed, with multiple police-cars closing in the distance.

"Where to guys?" April asks. "We got cops all over the place."

Michelangelo grabs her by the shoulder. "The sewers, darling. The sewers."

"Sewers?" Casey asks a bit hesitantly.

 **XXX XXX**

Donatello and Michelangelo carry Raphael while April supports Leonardo as they enter the turtles secret sewer-hideout. Casey Jones is holding a hockey-stick in hand and keeps watch over their backs.

"Man, what a terrific smell you guys have discovered down here" Casey says. "Smells like a moldy turd set on fire."

Raphael is placed on the couch and Leonardo in a chair.

"I'll get the first-aid kit" Donatello says and runs off.

"You do that" Michelangelo says. "I'll get the pizza."

April looks around, somewhat amazed. "You guys live down here?"

"Yeah" Leonardo nods. "Its this or being dissected in a government lab somewhere."

April nods. "I can see why you would prefer this."

"I'm not convinced they made the right choice" Casey says as he looks around.

Donatello runs up to Raphael and starts applying first-aid. Michelangelo shows up as well with a pizza, slice in hand.

"Hey" Michelangelo says, "it might not be the Ritz, but we got free cable, pay no rent and we don't have to worry about pushy insurance-salesmen knocking on the door. Now who in New York would turn that down?"

April is in awe. "Amazing."

"What is this?!" Splinter is heard saying.

Casey Jones is ready to fight. "Whatta hell is that?!"

"Sensei" Leonardo says and gets out of the chair and falls to a knee out of respect. "Forgive us, but the police were chasing us. We had no other choice but to hide down here. The Foot Clan made their move against the reporter, just as you predicted. We thought this would be the safest place to hide."

Splinter, using a cane to support him, walks into the room. "Let us hope it was the correct decision" he says. "Please, sit. Rest" he tells April and Casey. "My sons will provide you with food and drink." Splinter turns to Michelangelo and gives him a nod.

"Sure thing, dude" Michelangelo says and goes to fetch food and drinks. "This is so cool."

As April and Casey sit down in another couch, Splinter limps on over to a chair and sits down to rest. He watches as Donatello helps Raphael.

"How is Raphael?" Splinter asks.

"He'll be alright" Donatello says. "A couple of stiches, some bruises, but he'll be ok."

"It's nothing, sensei" Raphael says, clearly in pain. "I've been through worse."

April swallows and asks. "Where do you come from? How did you get here?"

Michelangelo enters and provides Casey and April with pizza and sodas. "I thought it was obvious. We're aliens, dude."

"You're shitting me, right?" Casey says. "You got a spaceship?"

"Off course we're not aliens" Donatello says. "You think we would live down here if we were from outer space?"

Splinter is next to speak. "Many years ago, I came here from Japan. For years I ran a small dojo. But one night, fifteen years ago, as I returned home ( _a flashback sequence begins, starting with Splinter as a human in his fifties, relying on a cane as he walks, walking up to his buildings door; further down two police-cars have lights flashing and the cops are arresting a person. We hear the cops say "Baxter Stockman, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law_ ) I found a window broken, along with my terrarium and the pot that had held a Chinese flower. A gift from a special friend in Japan. On the floor, I found a canister, it was broken and a green ooze had leaked from it. Somehow, it had flown through my window. My flower was in the ooze, but so were my four turtles. They were covered in it, and writhing in pain. There was a rat standing in the ooze, sniffing at my pets. I could not let it bite them, so I hurried over and grabbed it. It bit me, but I snapped its neck and threw it to the side. I picked up the turtles, my bleeding hands was covered in the ooze, but I did not care; my pets were in so much pain. I hurried to put them in the bathtub where I washed them clean. But then, I got dizzy, the world spun around and I fainted. Then followed hours, maybe even days, of severe pain. By body felt as if it was on fire at its very core. Eventually, after how long I do not know, I found the strength to get back on my feet. And I found a mirror… and saw what I had become. I had little time to reflect, as I heard noises from my apartment. I left the bathroom, and to my great surprise, I found four humanoid turtles. They appeared to be ages two or three; young children playing. As you can imagine, the next days and following months were strange to say the least. In the end, we could no longer hide in my apartment and we were forced into hiding in the sewers, away from people and the risk of being seen ( _Splinter flees with the turtles out the window, just as the landlord enters the apartment and says "I'm sorry, mister Yoshi, but you are two months behind on your rent"_ ). It was here that I found meaning in life, and learned to deal with our situation, by raising the turtles as my sons and teaching them the secret arts of the ninja." ( _in the sewers, Splinter performs martial-arts moves and the four turtles mimic his movements_ )

"Incredible" April says.

"I am Leonardo" Leonardo says. "And these are my brothers. Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael."

"So basically, what you're saying is" Casey Jones says, "is that you are teenage, mutant, ninja turtles?"

"Well, when you put it like that it just sounds retarded" Michelangelo says. "But yeah. That's basically it."

April looks at her new fantastic friends. "So why are you fighting the other ninjas?"

Splinter answers. "When we saw your report on the news, about professor Chaplin, I could not help but feel as if the poor professor had been assassinated by a ninja. Donatello figured out that a ship from Japan had arrived the day before the murder and was about to leave the night after. I sent my sons to investigate, suspecting the ninja would try and leave using this ship."

"Told you, didn't I" Casey says, giving April a nudge.

"That's when we ran into you guys the first time" Leonardo says. "When the Foot Clan attacked you at the docks."

"The Foot Clan?" April asks.

"The enemy" Splinter says. "They now know that you have discovered them, miss O'Neil, and they will not stop trying to silence you. You are not safe. You need my sons to protect you."

"I'm not used to hiding" April says. "I've done stories on the mob, on corrupt politicians. I wont let some ninja-thugs scare me. If I can prove who hired them to kill Chaplin, the authorities can go after them. If I can get Baxter Stockman to admit that he used TCRI to have Chaplin killed, then I can go after the Foot Clan and bring them down."

"A very dangerous mission, miss O'Neil" Splinter says.

"Danger is what I do" April replies.

Michelangelo looks at Donatello. "Dude… I'm in love."

Leonardo walks over to April. "We'll do what we can to help you."

April smiles. "Thanks."

"Swell" Casey says. "Now all we have to do is break into the TCRI building and kidnap one of their most high-profile employees. No sweat."

 **XXX XXX**

In an abandoned warehouse, Karai and eight Foot Clan ninjas are kneeling with heads lowered. Out of the shadows, twelve other ninjas emerge and within moments, Shredder steps out of the shadows and walks on over to Karai.

"Rise, my daughter" Shredder says in Japanese.

Karai gets up on her feet. "Father" she says in Japanese, "the Yōkai interfered again. We tried to capture the reporter, to interrogate her so we could find out how she had linked our employer to us. But the reporter was rescued by the Yōkai. Turtles skilled in the arts of the ninja. Trained in the ways of the Foot Clan."

"Turtles?" Shredder says, as if trying out the word. Then he lashes out and strikes Karai to the ground. "Nothing but a disguise! Yoshihama Takeshi is behind this! He must be!" Shredder turns to address all the ninjas. "Find them! Whatever they are! Go!"

All the ninjas vanish into the shadows. Shredder turns to Karai.

"You will not fail me again, Karai" Shredder says. "I have come here in person to New York to kill Yoshihama Takeshi. You will not fail me."

"I will not dishonor you, father" Karai says. "Not again."

"Go" Shredder says. "Find them."

Karai leaves and Shredder is on his own. Shredder steps out onto the roof of the building and looks out over the giant city, listening to all the sounds and watching all the lights.

"You were a fool to come out of hiding, Takeshi" Shredder says. "You should have stayed hidden. Now, I will finish what we both started so long ago."


	3. Chapter 3

Splinter and Casey Jones watches Dynasty on the tv.

"This show has so many layers" Jones says.

"It reminds me much of my old life" Splinter says.

"I heard that" Jones replies.

April moves through the hideout, moving past Raphael who plays on a pinball-machine, and then enters a small room where Leonardo and Donatello are at. Donatello is working on a computer.

"Find anything yet?" April asks.

"Donnie is trying to find info on Stockman" Leonardo says.

April takes a closer look at the strange looking computer. "What kind of computer is this?"

"I made it myself" Donatello says. "Used a lot of spare-parts from old Mouser robots. Their programming was pretty advanced, even by todays standards, so it wasn't hard making a super-computer from their brains."

April then takes a look at the information on the screen. "You have accessed TCRI's mainframe?"

Donatello nods. "Sure have. Me and Mikey hooked up to their internal network earlier, while you and Casey were asleep. Now, I am going through their classified files and documents."

"And?" Leonardo asks.

"Baxter Stockman is employed as a genetics expert" Donatello explains. "And has a VIP apartment in the adjacent building to TCRI's head-office. According to the logs, he usually punches out from work around ten each evening."

"Busy guy" Leonardo says.

"So at ten" April says, "Stockman leaves the TCRI building and walks on over to the apartment-building across the street?"

"Yup" Donatello nods.

"That's when we'll have to catch him" Leonardo says. "Good work, Donnie. See if you can't find anything on their security. Routines for their bodyguards and stuff like that."

"Sure thing, Leo" Donatello says and gets to work.

Leonardo and April walk into the next room.

"This is amazing" April says. "I can't believe you managed to access TCRI's mainframe. That's incredible."

Leonardo shrugs his shoulders. "Don't ask me how. Donnie is the genius."

"For being a genius" Raphael growls, "he sure as hell can't fix a simple pinball-machine! Donnie! The pinball-machine is busted again!"

Donatello enters the room. "Maybe because you keep busting it up, Raph?!"

"Can you fix it or not, genius?" Raphael asks.

"I can fix it" Donatello says. "I can fix anything."

April takes a look around. "Where's Mikey by the way?"

"Getting food" Leonardo says.

 **XXX XXX**

A pizza-delivery guy on a moped enters a dark alley. He stops and uses a flashlight to check his notes.

"Money is in the can by the dumpster. Leave the pizzas and take the money. Follow these instructions and you can keep the tip." The delivery-guy looks up and uses the flashlight to double-check his surroundings. "You have got to be kidding me?"

He climbs off the moped, grabs the pizzas and walks down the alley. He finds the dumpster and the can and picks up a ten and two singles. He takes a second look around with his flashlight.

"Hello? Anyone here?" When there is no reply, he shrugs his shoulders. "Easy money, and I got free dinner" he says, pockets the money and heads back to the moped with the pizzas.

Out of the shadows, a nunchaku is used to take a choke-hold on the pizza-delivery guy.

"They say that forgiveness is divine" Michelangelo says from the shadows, "but never, ever, let a man live that tries to steal your pizza."

"Hey, I'm sorry man. Take the pizzas, here, take the money, you can have it, I don't mind."

Michelangelo lets go of the nunchaku and takes the two single-dollar bills. "You haven't earned the tip, dude. Now place the pizzas on the ground and head on out of here."

The pizza-guy does as he's told and then runs for the moped and drives off at high speed. Michelangelo picks up the pizzas and heads down the alley.

"Humans" he says, "they just don't appreciate the importance of pizza."

 **XXX XXX**

Late at night and everyone is asleep, empty pizza-boxes on the dinner-table. Splinter is asleep by the tv-set like some old retired man, snoring. April wakes up and spots Donatello by the computer. She walks over to him.

"Still awake?" she asks.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep" Donatello says. "I'm reading up on Baxter Stockman. The guy is a genius. Did you know that while he was in jail, he published an article on genetic mutation that would have earned him the Nobel prize, had he not been in jail. Incredible."

"Now we know why TCRI hired him as soon as he got out" April says.

"Yeah" Donatello nods. "This guy is like super-smart."

"Do you mind if I asked you a question?" April wonders.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Splinter" she says, "he said he came here from Japan. And that he trained you to become ninjas… What did he do in Japan?"

Donatello stops working and looks at April, then leans back into his chair. "Before he… before the accident, his name was Hamato Yoshi" Donatello says. "He had to leave Japan because of a feud with a man called Oroku Saki. So he came here, to New York, to hide."

"So Hamato Yoshi was a… ninja?" April says and Donatello nods. "And so was Oroku Saki?"

"Yeah. It was a power-struggle within their clan. And Splinter lost. That's how he got his limp."

"Kinda like Stockman and Chaplin" April says. "Stockman always claimed that Chaplain stole the Mouser robot from him. So he burned down Chaplin's lab to get even."

"Wasn't there a huge fire on the day we got our ooze-bath?" Michelangelo says as he walks past, yawning, picks up a soda and has a drink and then leaves.

Donatello nods. "Yeah, Splinter said it was the next block down. Along Miller and Kirby."

"Miller and Kirby?" April says. "That's where Chaplin's lab was. That's the building that Stockman burned down. Chaplin was working on an experimental fuel at the time and Stockman stole it. But when Stockman was caught the police found nothing on him."

"He had dumped it" Donatello says, "thrown it through the window of Hamato Yoshi's apartment. Stockman had stolen the ooze from Chaplin."

"A liquid that mutated you all" April continues. "And now, Stockman works for TCRI as an expert on genetic mutation, and Chaplin gets killed."

"TCRI has the ooze" Donatello says. "If they perfect the mutagen, god only knows what they could do. What they could create. They must be stopped."

 **XXX XXX**

The TCRI building, late at night.

Baxter Stockman, dressed in a bio-hazard suit, experiments on the ooze, the liquid can be found in the stolen cannister. Outside of the bio-hazard area, a man in a suit ( Mr. Utrom ) is watching Baxter working.

"How are things progressing?" Mr. Utrom asks.

"It is as I suspected" Stockman says. "The mutagen is powerful, but unstable. We need a stabilizing biological component to make it useful to us. Without it, we wont be able to control the mutating sequence."

"What kind of biological component?" Mr. Utrom asks.

Baxter Stockman exits the bio-hazard area through an airlock and removes the bio-hazard suit. "I don't know yet" he says and walks over to a computer. "But as soon as I find it, I will be able to provide you with a stable mutagen that can create what ever you want. Mutant soldiers that any nation would pay billions of dollars for to fight for them. Or mutant slaves if that is your cup of tea."

"I don't drink tea" Mr. Utrom says. "Keep up the good work, mister Stockman. Impress us and we will make you a rich man."

Mr. Utrom leaves. Stockman looks at the cannister in the bio-hazard laboratory.

"Rich?" Stockman says with a smile. "I will rule the world."

Baxter Stockman leaves the TCRI building together with two bodyguards and head for the apartment-building across the street. All of a sudden, the green van drives up and brakes right in front of them and Casey Jones jumps out.

"Can anyone tell me the way to the Statue of Liberty?"

The two bodyguards move up and push Jones back into the van.

"Get the hell out of here" one of the bodyguards says. "And learn how to drive!"

Behind the two bodyguards, we see Michelangelo, with a big smile on him, sneaking up behind Baxter Stockman and dragging him down without a sound.

"Hey man, sorry" Jones says and climbs in behind the wheel. "Just asking for directions" he says and drives off.

The two bodyguards turn around and Baxter Stockman is missing.

In the sewers, the turtles hurry on foot, while Michelangelo is carrying Baxter over his shoulder; Baxter is tied up and gagged and blindfolded.

"You know" Michelangelo says, "for a skinny professor brainiac type of dude, this guy sure weighs a lot."

"Stop complaining, Mikey" Leonardo says.

"I'm just saying" Michelangelo says, "you would think he would weigh a lot less."

Baxter Stockman is put down in a chair and has his gag and blindfold removed by Casey Jones. April, wearing a ski-mask, sits opposite of Baxter while Jones, wearing his hockey-mask, is standing next to her with a baseball-bat.

"Who the hell are you?!" Stockman asks. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who I'm working for?!"

"Baxter Stockman" April says, "hired by TCRI to develop a powerful mutagen from professor Chaplains experimental fuel. Close enough?"

Baxter is taken a bit by surprise. "Who are you?"

"You're not asking the questions here, pal" Casey says.

April is next to speak. "When you burned down Chaplins lab, you stole something. A liquid. What did you do with it?"

Jones moves in with his bat. "TELL HER WHAT YOU DID WITH IT?!"

"I threw it off the building!" Baxter says. "The cops had me cornered on the rooftop, so I tossed the damned cannister off the roof. I don't know where it ended up."

"Why did you take it?" Aprils asks.

"WHY?!" Jones shouts and threatens with the bat.

"I was going to use his fuel to burn down his lab" Baxter admits. "I thought it would be ironic to burn down all his achievements with his own god damn fuel. He had stolen my Mouser robot, made a fortune from it, the bastard. He had it coming! That's when I found his notebook. He had discovered that his fuel had a serious side-effect; it was highly mutagenic. It would never be allowed to be used by the public, or the military even. But I knew I could solve it. I knew I could stabilize it. So I took it."

April nods. "So you burned down the building and went to jail. And in jail, you studied genetics. Learned everything you could. Because you knew that as soon as you got out, you could finish the job. Correct?"

Baxter nods. "Yeah. I went to TCRI and told them of Chaplin's fuel and what I could do with it. They agreed to help me if I developed the mutagen for them. I had no problem with that deal."

"And Chaplin's murder?" April wondered.

Baxter hesitates, causing Jones to move in again.

"WHAT ABOUT THE MURDER, ASSHOLE!"

Baxter answers. "I told TCRI that if they wanted my services they would have to do something about that stinking rat!"

"You told them to have him killed?" April wonders.

"No, no… They simply provided me with the cash to get it done" Baxter says. "I knew where to go to put a price on his head. And I got enough money from TCRI so that I could pay for guaranteed satisfaction."

April leans in towards Baxter. "Where did you take the money?"

 **XXX XXX**

Several police-officers exits a police-station and finds Baxter Stockman tied and gagged on their stairs, together with a tape-recorder with a note taped to it that says _Play me, I confess_.

 **XXX XXX**

The green van drives along the streets of New York late at night. The turtles are in the back with April and Jones up front, with April driving.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have interrogated the guy" Michelangelo says and then puts on a paper-bag over his head with two holes cut out for the eyes. "See. He wouldn't have suspected a thing."

Leonardo turns to April. "Have you ever heard of these guys before?"

April nods. "Yeah. When ever the rich and wealthy have a problem that involves a dead body, they turn to these two guys. Getting rid of people is their specialty. So I'm not surprised that Stockman payed them a visit to get Chaplin killed."

"Will there be trouble?" Leonardo then asks.

"I think I can handle them" April says. "Here we are. Stay down, we're here."

The van drives up and parks in front of a small Jazz-club; the Bebop & Rocksteady club. April leaves the others behind and enters the club.

"I don't like this" Casey says. "I don't like this one bit. I've heard of this place; these are hardcore Russian gangsters operating out of this joint. Arms-dealers selling Soviet weapons. Bad people to the bone. I mean, if we don't keep our shit together right now, we will end up dead with a full burst of AK47 emptied in us, you know what I'm saying?"

Behind Casey, the turtles begin a very similar beat-box scene as we see in the 2014 movie, which has Casey looking back over his shoulder in utter disbelief.

Meanwhile, April gets escorted through the club by two massive bouncers who take her to a private part of the club. Here, she comes across a large Russian in a suit who is feeding a massive rhino.

"Ah, miss O'Neil" the Russian says. "Your fame precedes you. You are quite famous."

"As are you, Steranko" April says. "You are a well known provider of guns and other lethal services."

"That I am" Steranko says with a smile. "Have you met my pet? Beautiful. Majestic. If I could chose, I would like to be reborn a rhinoceros. Powerful animal, yes?"

"I'm here on business, Ivan" Aprils says. "Chaplin. Baxter Stockman payed you to have him killed. How can I find the people who pulled it off?"

"Very dangerous words, coming from a reporter" Steranko says. "But I will hear your offer, before I kill you."

"Baxter Stockman has been picked up by the police, together with a tape on which he confesses everything. Including hiring your services" April says.

This gets the attention of Steranko. "Go on."

"That piece of information alone should be worth quite a lot" April says. "You'll have time to take precautions, get yourself an alibi or maybe even a lawyer. At any rate, I just saved your ass, Ivan. That should be payment enough for the information I'm looking for."

Sterkano gives it some thought. "You're right. April O'Neil, you are a brave woman. You must have Russian blood in you. So I will give you what you want. As a favor. We hired some Japanese assassins for the Chaplin job. They are expensive, but the best. They came here and wanted a hideout. We provided one."

April leaves the club and jumps into the van.

"Well?" Donatello asks.

"We got 'em" April says and drives away.

Inside the club, Steranko is still feeding the rhino when an afro-american with a purple mohawk walks into the room.

"I told you, Ivan, this was the best gig we could ever get!" he says. "We have never seen this much money drop in our lap, and all we had to do was to arrange the logistics."

"True" Steranko says. "But there is a cost to everything. Is that not so, Karai?"

Karai enters the room as well, with a smile on her lips. "Yes. Yes there is."


	4. Chapter 4

The green van reaches New York Harbor and an abandoned warehouse.

"That's the place" April says. "The safehouse that Steranko provided the Foot Clan with."

Leonardo studies the building. "Alright, turtles, it's party time."

"Far out" Michelangelo says.

April and Casey are sneaking closer to the building on their own, April with a camera ready.

"I sure hope our green friends knows what they're doing" Casey says.

"They stand a better chance of taking the Foot Clan by surprise than we do" April says. "If we can capture the Foot Clan here tonight, we can link them to Stockman and TCRI. And then heads will roll."

Casey looks over his shoulder. "I'm just worried one of those heads might be mine before all of this is over,"

"God, you're such a wimp."

Inside the warehouse, Karai is practicing throwing shuriken at a target. While she does so, she does not notice the four turtles silently moving from shadow to shadow until they link up behind her. She pauses and then slowly turns around.

"Yōkai" Karai says with a whisper.

Michelangelo is quick to reply. "We're okay, thanks for asking."

"For your own sake" Leonardo says, "don't try anything stupid. Just surrender and we'll take you to the police and no-one will get harmed."

"You think I will go to the police with you?" Karai says.

"Come on, lady" Raphael says, "there is no way in hell you can take on the four of us and win."

At that point, twenty Foot Clan ninjas appear out of hiding and surrounds the turtles, armed with various weapons. Karai unsheathes her own sword and her tonfa and prepares herself for battle.

Michelangelo turns to Raphael, "You had to jinx it, didn't you?"

"What do we do, Leo?" Donatello wonders. "These guys look like they mean business."

"We can take 'em" Raphael growls.

"Stand you ground" Leonardo says. "Let them make the first move."

At that point, a Foot Clan ninja armed with a nunchaku tries to taunt the turtles by stepping up and combining fancy nunchaku moves with acrobatic martial arts, trying to lure the turtles to attack. Something that catches Michelangelo's attention.

"Ahaa, a fellow chucker, ey?" Michelangelo says. "Not bad, but can you do this?" Michelangelo begins to spin his one nunchaku in the most basic way, holding one stick and spinning the other round and round, first on his right and then on his left. "How do you like that? Huh? A little bit of lightning, a little bit of thunder."

The Foot Clan ninjas look at each other with some confusion over Michelangelo's display.

Then, Michelangelo says "Heads Up!" and lets go of the spinning nunchaku and hits the Foot Clan ninja that had taunted the turtles right across the face, knocking him over. "Boom!" Michelangelo says, "Cowabunga, Mother Fu...!"

"Let's get 'em!" Raphael says and charges.

The turtles attack and the fight is on! While Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo deal with the other ninjas, Leonardo ends up fighting Karai one on one. In the end, the turtles overcome the Foot Clan ninjas and only Karai is left standing, now facing all four turtles.

"It's over" Leonardo says, panting from the fighting. "You can't win this."

"Please" Donatello says. "Put your weapons down. This doesn't have to end in a bad way."

"Sure it does" Raphael says and hits his palm with his fist.

"Listen to me" Leonardo tells Karai, "we don't want to hurt you."

At that moment, Donatello reaches out with his staff and catches a shuriken inches from Leonardo's head. All the turtles dodge and backflip as several shuriken rain down towards them. Karai vanishes in a cloud of smoke and the turtles end up in defensive stances, ready to fight.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" Raphael growls.

"I didn't see anything" Donatello says.

"Man, whoever this guy is, he's good" Michelangelo says, slowly spinning his nunchaku.

"Shut up and listen" Leonardo orders the others.

After a few seconds of silence, a lone warrior drops down from the ceiling and lands on the floor. As he rises, it is obvious it is Shredder.

"What the hell is that?" Leonardo says.

Michelangelo scratches his chin. "A spiky, slicy, shreddery, thingamajig?"

"Why would you wear something like that?" Donatello wonders.

"I could wear something like that" Raphael says. "That look would work on me."

"Personally, if you ask me" Michelangelo says, "the dude is clearly compensating for something, if you know what I mean."

At this point, April and Casey manage to take a look through a window and April has her camera ready.

"You fight well in the old style" Shredder says in Japanese.

"I'm sorry" Leonardo says, "but I don't speak Japanese."

"I do" Donatello says and raises his hand. "Never mind."

"You are not spirits" Shredder says in English. "What are you? How did you learn to fight like this? How did you learn the secrets of the Foot Clan?"

"Who wants to know?" Raphael asks.

"I am Oroku Saki" Shredder says, "grand master of the Foot Clan."

The turtles all take a step back at the mention of the name.

"It's him" Donatello says.

"You betrayed our master!" Leonardo says and points a sword at Shredder. "You forced him to leave Japan and live out his life in the sewers! You will pay for your treachery!"

"So he is alive" Shredder says.

The turtles attack, but Shredder is too skilled for them and manage to fight them off. The fight continues, but the turtles stand no chance and are soon both exhausted and wounded. They back off and take a moment to catch their breath.

"You will take me to your master" Shredder says. "You will take me to Yoshihama Takeshi."

"Never heard of the guy" Raphael says.

"Don't know who you're talking about, pal" Leonardo adds.

Shredders growls. "Only Yoshihama Takeshi could have taught you this way of fighting. Where is he?!"

"Sorry" Leonardo says, "but we can't help you. Time to cut our losses guys. Let's get out of here."

"Finally" Michelangelo says, "my back is killing me."

They all turn around and find themselves facing twenty Foot Clan ninjas, along with Karai.

"Man, they're like cockroaches" Donatello says with a sigh.

"You will not leave until I have my answers" Shredder says and moves towards the turtles.

At that point, the green van crashes through a garage-door and the ninjas scatter to not get hit. The van slides to a stop and April, sitting behind the wheel, calls out to the turtles.

"Come on, guys!"

The turtles hurry to climb in and Casey helps them. As Leonardo is about to climb in, Shredder grabs him and throws him back. Raphael tries to attack Shredder, but Shredder slices Raphael across the face so that Raphael falls back into the van. Donatello tries to hit Shredder with his staff, but Shredder grabs it and pulls it free from Donatello's grip and cracks it in two over his knee. Michelangelo starts throwing smoke-bombs at Shredder who backs away as one smoke-bomb after the other detonates against his torso. Leonardo jumps over Shredder and jumps into the van.

"Go!" Casey shouts at April. "Get us out of here, now!"

April steps on it and drives off at full speed, with shuriken sticking to her door and windshield as she leaves the old warehouse. Outside, she comes around the corner and drives up along the side of the building as fast as she can go.

"That can-opener was badass!" Donatello says.

"Uhuh, he shredded Raph pretty good" Michelangelo says.

"Just a scratch" Raphael frowns and gently touches the cuts across his face made by Shredder.

Casey holds on as April drives. "Who the hell was that guy?"

"Oroku Saki" Leonardo explains. "The guy that almost killed master Splinter back in Japan and forced him into exile."

"It can't be a coincidence he's here in New York" April says. "It can't be a coincidence he ambushed you guys."

At that point, Shredder lands on top of the van, his wrist-blades piercing the roof.

"Holy hell!" Michelangelo says with wide eyes. "The dude just shredded the van!"

"Two can play at that game!" Leonardo says and pierces the ceiling with a sword.

But Shredder brakes the sword with his wrist-blades so when Leonardo pulls it back down, it is only half a sword.

"Maybe this might be a good time to pull out the white flag?" Donatello says and holds up a white cloth.

Leonardo growls. "This guy is starting to piss me off" he says and kicks open the rear-doors and climbs up on top of the van.

"Where the hell is he going?!" Casey wonders.

Raphael gets on his feet, opens the side-door and climbs out as well.

"Now where the hell is he going?!" Casey then says.

On the roof of the van, Leonardo attacks Shredder, and soon after, Raphael joins in. After a brief, yet intense, fight, Raphael ends up in Shredders grip with Raphael standing on the edge of the van and is only kept from falling off by Shredders grip on his throat. Shredder turns to Leonardo.

"Drop your weapon" Shredder says. "Or I let him go and he dies when my men run him over."

Leonardo looks behind them and spots two black minivans following them. "Alright, Shredder, you win" Leonardo then says and tosses the sword to the side.

But Raphael manage to catch it in midair and strikes at Shredder; but as Shredder parries, he loses his grip on Raphael. Donatello and Michelangelo both reach out and grab Raphael and pull him into the van. Leonardo attacks Shredder with fists and kicks, but Shredder has after only a few moves managed to twist Leonardo's arm around and have him in a locked grip.

"You will have to do" Shredder says.

Then he pushes Leonardo off the van and jumps after, landing on Leonardo's chest. The green van comes to a screeching halt and everyone jumps out, including Casey and April joining the turtles. They watch as the two black vans catch up to Shredder and Foot ninjas grab Leonardo and force him into one of the vans. Shredder climbs in as well and they drive off.

"Leo!" Raphael calls out and begins to run after the black vans. "LEO!"

Raphael falls to his knees and hands, tired and exhausted, shaking in his head. Michelangelo leans up against the van with head lowered and Donatello falls to his knees as well. April moves up to Jones and he puts his arms around her to comfort her.

 **XXX XXX**

Splinter sits and performs a tea-ceremony when the others return to the hideout. When he realizes something is wrong and Leonardo is not with them, he gets on his feet.

"Where is Leonardo?"

Later, April takes a peek into a room where Splinter sits in meditation. She turns around and watches the turtles; Donatello tries out a new staff, feeling its balance and tries some moves with it, Michelangelo is depressed and is eating pizza with his chin leaning against his palm and Raphael is throwing his Sai and shuriken at a target, hitting the head with each throw. Casey Jones is drinking beer and watching television.

"Guys, what are we going to do?" April asks. "We need to do something, right?"

"There's nothing we can do!" Raphael growls and kicks the target and snaps it in two.

"We have no leads on where this Shredder guy is hiding" Donatello says. "He could be anywhere."

"But we have a lead" April says. "The Russians. They set us up, right? I say we go ask them some questions."

"Woa woa woa" Casey Jones says and puts the beer away. "Those guys are insane. May I remind you, miss news-reporter, that those Russians have killed cops for far less."

"I like this plan" Raphael says. "I say we go over there and brake some bones" he adds and cracks his knuckles in his palms.

"If we do this" Donatello says, "we need to make sure that they can't warn the Foot Clan once we are done with them."

"Hell yeah" Raphael says and nods.

Michelangelo sips some soda. "What? Going all mobster on 'em and dump 'em in the Hudson? Concrete-shoes and all?"

"I'm in" Raphael says.

"Wait, wait" Casey steps in. "You would declare war on a major supplier of guns to organized crime in America. Do you even realize how many enemies you would make over night?"

Michelangelo shrugs his shoulders. "What? You think they will believe the Russians when they tell all the Italianos that a couple of turtles kicked their asses?"

"Now who in their right mind would believe that?" Donatello adds.

"It's settled" Raphael says and hits his palm with a fist, "it's payback time."

"Not tonight!" Splinter says and everyone turns to listen as the old rat limps in with his cane. "You were rash when you went after the Foot Clan on your own. You underestimated your enemy and walked into a trap. You underestimated Oroku Saki, and now, you have lost your brother. You will not underestimate your enemy again. You will not be rash and run after the enemy again. You will reflect, contemplate and find clarity before you act. You will make your move when the enemy is unaware of your presence, you will make your move when the enemy believes he is safe. You will make your move when you are guaranteed success. You are ninja. You live and breathe in the shadows. And it is from the shadows you will strike. It is there you will find victory."

"But master" Raphael says, "if we wait, Leonardo might be killed! The longer we wait, the less chance we have of finding him!"

Donatello steps up. "Master, we have to find Leo. We can't just leave him on his own."

"He needs our help, master" Michelangelo says.

"Enough!" Splinter says. "Tonight you rest. Now go, get some sleep. You will need all your strength tomorrow."

The three turtles reluctantly leave the room. Casey Jones shakes his head, opens up another beer and sits down by the tv-set. April turns and watches Splinter limp on out of the room.

Later that night, the turtles are asleep in their own beds. Casey Jones is asleep in front of the tv. A black shadow moves through the hideout and leaves silently; it is Splinter who is limping down the sewers. He stops, sighs and turns around.

"How did you know I was leaving?" Splinter asks.

April steps out of the shadows. "I may not be a ninja master, but I am a damn good reporter and I trust my instincts."

Splinter nods. "If I were you, I would never ignore those instincts."

"What are you doing?" April wonders. "You can't do this to the turtles. What if you get captured? Or killed? You can't tell them not to help their brother and then risk your own life."

"I can take care of myself, miss O'Neil, but I am grateful for your concern."

"Why are you doing this?" April then asks. "What did Oroku Saki do to you? You are prepared to betray your own students, your own sons, so he must have done something more than simply give you that limp."

Splinter sighs. "In Japan, I was a member of the Foot Clan. An infamous society of ninjas that had killed for money for almost five hundred years. But I managed to convince our leader, a wise man named Oroku Nagi, that we had the ability to help every man, woman and child in Japan if we only aimed our efforts against organized crime, instead of helping it. We could have ended crime in Japan over night. But before he could announce his decision, Nagi was killed and I was accused of murder. I decided to run, to flee the country with my wife and child. But our car exploded. I was crippled by the blast, but my wife… and… my daughter… I never saw them again. The only thing I managed to bring with me from home was a special and rare flower from the mountains of China, that my wife had nurtured for over a decade. When I came here, to New York, I made sure the flower survived. I tried to care for it, the same way my wife had done. It had become a way for me to speak to my family in the afterlife. Their spirits lived on through it. Once in America, I took the name Hamato Yoshi, or, Yoshi Hamato as you westerners would say it. As any good ninja, I hid in plain sight, out in the open, just one more immigrant in the Asian community. I started a small dojo where I taught karate, judo and aikido, but never the secrets of the ninja. But no matter what I did, I could never forget the man responsible for the death of my wife and child. Oroku Saki, the younger brother of Oroku Nagi. Ambitious and greedy, his heart black with hatred, Oroku Saki took control of the Foot Clan and blamed me for his brothers death, when it was himself that had killed his older brother. And then he tried to kill me, but killed my wife and daughter instead. And now, Oroku Saki has taken my son. I will not lose another child to the hatred of Oroku Saki. He will not break me again. This time, I will not run."

"You don't have to run" April says. "But you should not leave the turtles behind. They love Leonardo and are lost without him. They will do anything to get him back, just as you will. Abandon them now, who will guide them? Who will keep them on the right path?"

Splinter sighs and sits down, resting against his cane. "You are a wise young woman, miss O'Neil. I am proud to call you my friend."

"And I am glad to be your friend, Hamato Yoshi" April smiles. "Now, let's go back and tell the turtles of your plan."

Splinter smiles and places a hand on Aprils shoulder.

 _ **To be continued…**_


	5. Chapter 5

In an abandoned building, Foot Clan ninjas bring Leonardo, escorted by Karai, before Shredder.

"What is the name of your master?" Shredder asks over his shoulder.

"You know his name" Leonardo says defiantly.

"Yoshihama Takeshi" Shredder says. "Yet you claim you have never heard of him."

"My master is Hamato Yoshi" Leonardo says. "And he was forced into exile by Oroku Saki, after he was framed for the murder of Oroku Nagi. A murder you committed."

All the Foot Clan ninjas, including Karai, look at each other.

Shredder nods. "Hamato Yoshi" he says. "Yoshihama." Shredder turns to face Leonardo. "They are the same man. The man who killed my brother like a coward and fled the country like the dishonorable man he always was."

"Hamato Yoshi is not a coward" Leonardo. "You are. You framed him for the murder of your own brother and then killed his family!"

"Silence!"

Shredder attacks Leonardo with fists and kicks; Leonardo manage only to parry a few of them before he gets struck to the ground, receiving a cut across the arm from Shredders wrist-blades.

"I will not tolerate your lies, freak" Shredder growls. "Take him away!"

The Foot Clan ninjas grab Leonardo and drag him away. Karai remains behind for a while, seemingly a bit hesitant, before she leaves Shredder alone.

 **XXX XXX**

At the Bebop & Rocksteady club, the afro-american with the purple mohawk ( Anton Zeck ) guides a couple of stereotypical New York wiseguys through the club and to the back-rooms.

"Right this way, gentlemen, right this way" the Zeck says. "You will not be disappointed."

They eventually enter a large room where Steranko is waiting, his rhino is chained off to the side, together with several crates.

"Ah!" Steranko says. "Mario! Have I a nice gift for you" he says and opens a crate and picks up an RPG. "Huh? How about that? Prime Russian craftmanship. Will kill anything, tanks, cars and cops alike. You like, yes?"

"Very nice" the lead wiseguy says and nods. "How much?"

Zeck steps in. "Now here's where things get interesting" he says. "We will give you one crate free of charge, if you buy the other three."

"How much for the other three?" the gangster-boss asks.

"Ten percent of your racketeering business" Steranko says. "You might not think it's a fair deal, but consider that I will sell these beautiful rocket-launchers to Luigi if you don't want to deal with us."

Zeck smiles wide. "How about it, big guy? Wanna do business with us? Or risk getting shot at by the competition, armed with RPG's?"

"Is this a joke?" the mobster-boss says.

"I'm not laughing" Steranko says, dead serious.

"How about it, Mario?" Zeck asks. "Do we have a deal?" he says and holds out his hand for Mario to shake it.

"Let me tell you if we have a deal or not" Mario says and pulls out a gun.

At that point, the lights go out and all turns dark. Then, a single light lights up the far end of the room. All the gangsters turns to look, armed with guns; Steranko is holding two AK47's and Anton Zeck is armed with a loaded RPG. In the lit up part of the room, Michelangelo stands in a Michael Jackson kind of pose, with a paper-bag over his head and a hat on top of it. Then Michael Jacksons song _Bad_ starts playing and Michelangelo begins the exact dance-routine from the music-video. The gangsters don't know what to make of it at all. Then, as Michelangelo has moved into the midst of all the gangsters and finished the chorus with a mighty " _Who's Bad?!_ ", the lights go out again and all turns dark. A few seconds later and the lights turn on again and now there is no sign of Michelangelo, along with Steranko and Zeck.

"Whatta hell just happened?" Mario says.

 **XXX XXX**

Steranko and Zeck are on their knees, hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded. The blindfolds are removed and they look up, seeing the turtles and Splinter before them.

"Oh my god" Zeck says, "are we dead? Is this hell?"

"This aint hell" Raphael says, "but the next best thing."

"So you better start talking, Bebop and Rocksteady" Michelangelo says, still wearing the paper-bag on his head, "before this shit really goes crazy. I mean loco like you've never seen."

"The Foot Clan" Splinter says. "Oroku Saki… where can we find him?"

Donatello kneels next to the two prisoners. "This is when you spill the beans."

"And don't hold back" Raphael adds.

 **XXX XXX**

Leonardo sits alone in a small room, hands and feet chained, meditating. He looks up and spots Karai.

"What do you want?" Leonardo asks.

"Your master is a liar and a coward" Karai says with a frown. "He has deceived you. You should not defend a dishonorable man like Yoshihama Takeshi. He murdered my uncle, ran like a coward and hid here and changed his name. Those are not the actions of an honorable man."

"He raised me like a son" Leonardo says. "Took care of me and my brothers. Taught us the difference between right and wrong. He taught us discipline and loyalty. And he taught us to never hate the humans, even though they would hate us if they ever found us. Does that sound like a dishonorable man? A man who would murder his friend and run from justice?"

"You are a monster" Karai says. "And your master is a monster. He killed my mother!"

"Your mother?" Leonardo says. "Your burns… how did you get them?"

Karai looks at Leonardo. "Why do you care?"

"Hamato Yoshi lost his wife and daughter to a car-bomb, put in place by Oroku Saki" Leonardo says.

Karai is conflicted. "Your lies do not impress me, you freak."

Karai leaves and Leonardo lets out a sigh.

"She's alive?" Leonardo says.

 **XXX XXX**

The turtles, Splinter, April and Casey all prepare, putting on their gear and outfits. Michelangelo takes a look at Casey Jones.

"What's up with the hockey-thing anyway?" Michelangelo wonders.

"What? As if your outfit makes any more sense" Jones says.

The three turtles look at each other.

"What do you mean?" Donatello asks.

"You are man-sized, upright, talking turtles. I mean, what's the point with the bandanas? It's not like you're gonna fool anyone at a line-up" Casey points out.

"What's your point?" Raphael wonders.

"I mean…" Casey says and shrugs his shoulders, "You know… It's not like you… You're not exactly… inconspicuous."

"We're tortoises, asshole" Raphael growls.

"He means we are not stealthy" Donatello says.

"Does he even know what a ninja is?" Michelangelo says as he looks at his brothers.

"Settle down children" Splinter says, dressed the part of a ninja and secures a sword in his belt.

"Are we ready to go?" April asks.

Splinter turns around, standing in front of the turtles. "We are ready."

 **XXX XXX**

Leonardo sits and meditates.

Karai sits on a rooftop and looks out over New York City, troubled.

Shredder performs martial arts moves, training his body.

The green van moves through traffic.

Leonardo looks at the room and chains that keep him secured and sighs.

Karai shakes and hangs her head with a heavy sigh.

Shredder continues his routine of honing his skills.

A Foot Clan ninja sits in hiding on a rooftop. Then he spots Michelangelo sneaking around down below; Michelangelo is almost theatrically sneaking, like some evil cartoon character. The ninja pulls on a string three times and in the Foot Clan hideout, a bell rings as it is attached to the string ( there are several bells and strings ). A ninja hurries to find Shredder.

"Master. They are here" the ninja says in Japanese.

Shredder slowly turns around. "Finally."

The ninja that has spotted Michelangelo follows him. Michelangelo is still sneaking like a comic-book character. The ninja moves up to the edge of the roof and looks down; two arms, belonging to Raphael and Donatello, reach up and pulls him down.

Casey Jones, now dressed as a Foot Clan ninja, adjust the ninja-outfit.

"Good luck" April says and gives him a kiss on the cheek and heads off on her own.

Casey Jones smiles and pulls on the Foot Clan mask and moves on as well.

Donatello climbs an electrical-pole, opens a box and cuts some wires. The entire area loses power and all turns black. Karai reacts to the power-shortage and hurries back. Casey Jones, disguised as a Foot Clan ninja, enter the Foot Clan hideout, watches three ninjas hurry through the building along with Karai ( she gives orders in Japanese ); Casey Jones moves on.

On a rooftop overlooking the Foot Clan hideout, Splinter steps out into plain sight with the aid of his cane.

"Warriors of the Foot Clan!" he calls out in Japanese. "I am Yoshihama Takeshi! Your sworn enemy!"

Out of nowhere, two dozen ninjas appear, along with Karai; all with their weapons drawn.

Splinter turns to Karai. "Where is Oroku Saki? I would like to speak with my old friend."

"Where are the turtles?" Karai asks.

Inside the Foot Clan hideout, Casey Jones enters the basement and busts open a padlock that has locked a backdoor with chains. Opening the door, he removes the ninja-mask and the turtles enter the hideout.

"So far so good" Donatello says.

"Splinter has drawn out the Foot Clan" Casey says.

"Good" Raphael says. "Let's get going."

"Chuck Norris got nothing on us" Michelangelo says and they all sneak into the building.

On the other rooftop, the ninjas and Karai have Splinter surrounded.

"I knew that Oroku Saki was a coward" Splinter said, "but I did not think he would be afraid to face me."

"You will mind your words, beast" Karai says, weapons ready. "Oroku Saki is the finest shadow warrior Japan has seen a hundred years."

"Yet" Splinter says, "he is not here to fight me."

"No" Karai says. "But I am… Attack!"

The ninjas all attack Splinter; Splinter uses his cane to fight them off, combined with superior martial arts. When Karai joins in, Splinter finally draws his sword.

Inside the Foot Clan hideout, the three turtles sneak through the abandoned building. Shredder drops down from the ceiling and the fight is on! The three turtles instantly end up in trouble against the far superior fighting skills of Shredder.

April sneaks through the building and finds the room with Leonardo.

"April!" Leonardo says, surprised and happy.

April picks the locks to the chains. "Come on, the others are fighting the Foot Clan" she says and then hands Leonardo two swords. "I thought you might want these."

Leonardo tries them out with a few moves. "They'll do just fine."

They leave in a hurry to find the others.

On the rooftop, Splinter finds himself once again surrounded by Foot Clan ninjas and Karai.

"If I killed Oroku Nagi" Splinter says, "why did I stay? Why did I stay and let my wife and daughter be killed?! Why didn't I run the same night that Nagi was killed?!"

"I don't care!" Karai says. "You are a traitor!"

"I only found out about Nagi's murder, when I was accused of it" Splinter says. "I only decided to leave Japan when I realized that Oroku Saki would kill me and my family to cover up his own crimes. I only decided to flee to save my daughter!"

"Shut Up!" Karai roars and she and the other ninjas attack.

A ninja climbs the roof and slowly moves over to the fight. The ninja picks up a pair of tonfas from a knocked out Foot Clan ninja and then hits four unsuspecting Foot Clan ninjas over the head, knocking them out. Two other ninjas turn around and the tonfa-ninja removes the mask; it is Casey Jones.

"Think fast!" Casey says and throws the tonfas at the ninjas, forcing them to duck. He quickly moves up and hits them over the jaw with one punch each, sending them to the ground. Looking at his two fists, he says "It's a gift."

Splinter and Karai fights, but Karai is clearly not as skilled as Splinter.

"Oroku Saki killed his own brother" Splinter says as the fight goes on. "He framed it on me to take over the leadership of the Foot Clan. He is without honor and a traitor. He murdered my wife and daughter. He is too afraid to face me in battle. Oroku Saki does not deserve your loyalty."

"I will never betray him!" Karai replies during the fighting. "He is my father!"

Splinter backs off, looking quite surprised. "I will not ask of you to betray your family" Splinter says, makes a fantastic move, disarms Karai and knocks her out cold.

Casey Jones moves over to Splinter. "You alright?"

"I am fine" Splinter says, a bit exhausted. "Come, we must find Oroku Saki."

They leave, leaving Karai on the roof unconscious.

In the Foot Clan hideout, the fight between the turtles and Shredder continue. During the fighting, Michelangelo ducks an incoming strike by retracting his head into his shell and manage to land a punch at Shredder because of it. In the end, the three turtles eventually are too tired to get off the ground. Shredder steps up to Raphael and prepares to impale him, when he is distracted.

"Shredder!"

Shredder turns around and sees Leonardo enter the room.

"Leave my brothers alone" Leonardo says and takes a fighting stance.

Shredder gets back on his feet and Leonardo attacks. Leonardo takes the fight to Shredder, forcing Shredder to be on the defensive. The other three turtles help each other back on the feet and hurry after and soon enough join in on the fighting. All of a sudden, Shredder goes on the offensive and with a few advanced moves have knocked all turtles to the ground.

"Is this the best that Yoshihama Takeshi could do?" Shredder says. "Four freaks of nature, barely disciplined enough to understand the basics of ninjutsu. We are ninja. The Foot Clan of Kôga-region. We live and breathe in the shadows. We strike when we are guaranteed of victory. Discipline and loyalty is the essence of what we are. But you… you are the products of western society, loud and undisciplined, ignorant and inferior. I now see why Yoshihama Takeshi took you in. You are of the same weak stock."

"You are wrong, Oroku Saki."

Shredder turns around and spots Splinter further down the room.

"They are nothing like me. They are nothing like you or I ever was. Unlike you and I, they would never murder. They would never kill. They would never conspire against one another. They are better than us, they are more human than you and I could ever hope to be."

Shredder looks at Splinter, trying to figure out who he is.

"Don't you recognize me?" Splinter says. "The man whose life you ruined when you murdered my wife and child."

"Takeshi?" Shredder says when he finally realizes that the giant rat is his old enemy.

"I am Yoshihama Takeshi, Kôga-ninja of the Foot Clan. Loyal to our true master, Oroku Nagi."

"I will kill you" Shredder says, "no matter what form you take on. No matter what spirits you ally yourself with. I will kill you!"

Shredder attacks and Splinter parries and dodges each strike aimed at him. Eventually, Shredder begins a lethal series of attacks that truly forces Splinter to rely on all of his skills to stay alive.

"The Black Blossom!" Leonardo says with a gasp.

Shredder moves in for the kill, Splinter is unable to parry or dodge. But Splinters tail blocks the incoming blow!

"No human could ever survive the Black Blossom" Splinter says. "But I am not human."

Splinter punches the surprised Shredder and wraps his tail around Shredders throat and throws him out a window and Shredder falls three or four floors before he hits the concrete. Shredder is barely breathing when Casey Jones walks up to him, holding a heavy boulder.

Casey drops the boulder on Shredder and says "Oops!"

April drives the van up to the Foot Clan hideout and everyone gets in, limping and badly injured. Casey Jones hands Splinter the severely dented helmet of Shredder.

"Here ya go" Casey says. "A souvenir."

"I have no need of it" Splinter says.

"I'll take that" Raphael says and inspects the helmet. "I'll mount it on the wall."

"We could use it as a can-opener" Michelangelo says.

"Or a trashcan" Donatello suggests.

"So… Where to guys?" April asks from the drivers-seat.

"Home" Leonardo says. "Let's go home."

As the green van drives off, Karai watches them from a rooftop; the rage builds up within her until she lets out a great howl of pure hatred.

 **XXX XXX**

April and Charles Pennington walk through the corridors of the TMN-TV building.

"This story will shatter the world!" Charles says. "TCRI provides money to hire assassins to kill a rival inventor and steal his mutating super-fuel. And they do it all because of the vindictive monster, Baxter Stockman! Ninjas fighting New York's very own hockey-vigilante in a battle of good and evil, connecting Russian gun-runners to TCRI and an ancient brotherhood of Japanese assassins! MY GOD! It Is Brilliant!"

"I know" April says, quite pleased with herself. "As soon as we go on air, TCRI is going down and Baxter Stockman will get sent to jail for life."

"And TMN-TV will sell the story to every tv-station in the world!" Charles says. "We will be filthy rich! Stupid rich!"

They are both pleased and excited. Suddenly, Irma comes running.

"Mister Pennington! Mister Pennington!"

"What is it, Irma?"

"I just got word" Irma says. "Baxter Stockman has been released. Freed of all charges. The evidence didn't hold up in court."

April can't believe it. "What? How? Why?"

"Apparently he was forced into admitting it all" Irma says. "He feared for his life so said what ever the kidnappers wanted him to say."

"I can't believe this" April says, a bit disheartened.

"I'm sorry, April" Pennington says. "But if Stockman goes free, we can't go on air with your story. We can't accuse TCRI of anything if Stockman isn't guilty. We have to can the story. Sorry."

Charles leaves, a bit frustrated.

"I am truly sorry, April" Irma says and leaves as well.

April shakes her head. "Son of a…"

 **XXX XXX**

Baxter Stockman is sitting in an office and is smoking, a bit nervously. It is the office of Mr. Utrom.

"You told the lawyer that you at first didn't think the kidnappers were human" Mr. Utrom says. "Why?"

"The way their skin felt" Baxter says. "The way they smelled. It wasn't human hands that held me down" he says and continues to smoke nervously. "I think… I think Chaplin might have perfected the mutagen… I think they might have been mutants."

"Well, we better find them then" Mr. Utrom says, "don't we?"

Mr. Utrom is walking down a corridor, alone, and enters an elevator. He holds his hand against a screen and his palmprint gets scanned. The doors eventually open and he enters a room with highly sophisticated computers, and the room is filled with a thick green gas. Mr. Utrom stops, unbuttons his shirt and his stomach parts to allow a small creature to crawl out; it walks on six spidery legs and has two tentacles for arms. As it moves through the high-tech room, other similar creatures operate the computers. _Mr. Utrom_ walks up to a strange device that seem to create a portal of sorts.

"Well?" a mysterious voice speaks through the portal. "What news do you have for me?"

"An opportunity, my lord" the small creature that disguise itself as Mr. Utrom says. "I believe we could create an army to serve you, here, on this planet."

"Oh?" the voice across the portal says. "Well? Out with it?! How?!"

"We have discovered a powerful mutagen" Mr. Utrom says. "With it, we can create soldiers more powerful than anything the humans could ever hope to send against us. Earth will be conquered within a decade."

"I like it" the voice says and laughs. "Proceed with your plan. Crush the humans, destroy their civilization. Prepare them for my arrival."

"As you command, lord emperor Krang."

 **The End**

 _Well, there you have it. Fun to write at least. If you wonder why Hamato Yoshi is only an alias, it is because apparently in the Japanese version, Hamato Yoshi was renamed Yoshihama Takeshi. So it seemed like a logical choice. Anyway, if you have had a look, why not share a comment; maybe you liked it, maybe you hated it, why not let me know. Cheers!_


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